Giants decline World Series MVP Edgar Renteria’s option, Sabean says offer will be made shorly to Aubrey Huff, club will discuss bringing back Uribe, etc.

The Giants officially declined the $10.5 million option on Edgar Renteria, choosing to give their World Series MVP a $500,000 buyout instead.

This move shouldn’t surprise anyone. Renteria started only 62 games because of myriad injuries and hasn’t decided whether he wants to play another season.

But Giants GM Brian Sabean made a little news on a Comcast SportsNet Bay Area talk-show segment an hour ago, saying his understanding is that Renteria wants to play and there’s a possibility that the 35-year-old could return in a part-time role.

“We have to keep an open mind because the free-agent class isn’t very sexy,” Sabean said. “It’s certainly very short and not at all appealing at the shortstop position. So we’ll see. He still apparently wants to play but there’s plenty of time given the fact we’re not picking up the option and he’d be more of a complementary player.”

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Sabean said the club would make thongtastic first baseman Aubrey Huff an offer in a “short amount of time.” Sabean added that he’ll “certainly be in discussions” about re-signing infielder Juan Uribe, too.

Sabean said the Giants already have talked to Huff’s agent, although Huff mentioned that he was changing representation and could even do the job himself.

“He’s not in a hurry yet,” Sabean said. “He does want to return. There is mutual interest. But we have to decide what we can predict or expect out of Pablo (Sandoval), which is a little difficult, where he’ll play on the field. Aubrey being versatile, which he showed us, is invaluable. We’ll figure it out, but in a short amount of time, we’ll be making him an offer.”

Translation: Huff can play left or right, too. So if Sandoval has to play first, the Giants still could get Huff in the fold and adjust his position accordingly.

“What we first have to figure out is Sandoval’s situation, how we can predict which position we think is more favorable,” Sabean said. “As we saw, Juan played tremendous at third base, but having said that, we do need a shortstop and Juan is certainly capable of doing that and we’ll certainly be in discussions with him.”

Sabean and Bruce Bochy will meet with reporters tomorrow and they’ll be hit with a much wider range of questions. Will they have any interest in bringing back Pat Burrell? What about the innings load on their starters? How about an Evan Longoria-type contract for Buster Posey? I’ll post their answers here as soon as I can.

But the Giants might not have all those answers ready for us tomorrow. For obvious reasons, club officials are waaaaay behind where they usually are at this time. They’ve barely held any kind of organizational meetings, and Sabean alluded to that during his TV appearance.

“In the next couple days we’ll have a series of conference calls what we should do internally, what we want to do with our own people free-agent wise before looking to the outside world,” Sabean said.

They’ll talk about Brandon Belt, but I don’t expect he’ll be in a position to make the opening-day roster. More likely, if he keeps hitting, he’d be introduced at a hand-picked time during next season.

“He can swing the bat a lot like Posey,” Sabean said. “His bat stays in the zone for a long time. He’s got a nose for an RBI, he’s going to hit for power. He does play first base predominantly, but we’ve experimented with him in the outfield and he’s going gangbusters in the Arizona Fall League.”

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By the way, here’s a fact that just occurred to me.

Not only is Edgar Renteria the World Series MVP, but he’s the ONLY World Series MVP in Giants history.

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They first presented the award in 1955. The Giants hadn’t won since ’54.

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One popular online gambling service lists the Giants as 10-1 to win the 2011 World Series. The New York Yankees are 4-1, the Philadelphia Phillies are 6-1 and the Boston Red Sox also are 10-1. The A’s are 40-1 while the Pittsburgh Pirates are the longest odds, at 150-1.

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Took the Jeopardy test today. Really wish I’d remembered Dvorak was Czech and Chopin was Polish. I figured my fried neurons would cost me a couple. (Today, officially at least, is my first day off in two months.) Anyway, it was a lot of fun and I think it went well. So we’ll see.

Andrew Baggarly

Andrew Baggarly has documented the most eventful era in San Francisco Giants baseball history, having covered the team since 2004 for th​ree major media outlets including the San Jose Mercury News and the Oakland Tribune​. This is his 20th season as a baseball writer.
​Baggarly is the author of the bestselling book, A Band of Misfits: Tales of the 2010 San Francisco Giants, and the newly published Giant Splash: Bondsian Blasts, World Series Parades and Other Thrilling Moments By the Bay. Baggarly’s other notable life accomplishments include running as the Bratwurst in the Milwaukee Sausage Race and becoming a three-time Jeopardy! champion.

Baggs:
Another solid story and great news about Sabeans visit on Comcast. Sabean is pretty stoic in his public comments to all media but he did let us see inside the framework of the inner workings of the Giants.
[IE Brandon Belt – He’s got a nose for an RBI].

Thanks again and much luck on future Jeopardy dealings. Maybe you should include “The Machine” in your inner circle of confidants.

VNV

Baggs

we have it made with your post game notes. Numerous updates.
This year was fun because what the team did on the diamond. but reading your stories added to that fun

thank you

wee

I heard someone on the radio say that Huff could open a bar in SF and call it The Red Thong. If so, you should get a percentage.

Wishing you the best of luck in the Jeopardy test!

livefree

Indeed … what adjustments will be made in spring, and even into the season, considering the pitch counts and shorter layoff the starters are experiencing?

31007

what about Zito? He obviously can’t start, so what do they do with him? i.e. how do they get rid of him and his massive contract?

nxtr

“Thongtastic” there’s a word for the ages. Great job Andy!

David

Baggs….hope you did well on your Jeopardy test. My Uncle took it years ago and didn’t cut the mustard for some unknown reason, the man is brilliant. When he was a kid, he would read the Encyclopedia Britannica for light reading (yes, he was a nerd). I’m thinking he passed the knowledge part but failed on the TV personality aspect!

Shades of 54

It’s about time we got another post out of Baggs I thought he had retired.

Baggs, thanks for a great season of always timely and interesting updates. You made this year so much more enjoyable than it would have been, and that’s really saying something!

Hope you get plenty of time off before the winter meetings.

StanTheCaddy

hit the beach, baggs. you deserve it. all of your hard work is very much appreciated.

Jankgnt

I was thinking Renteria would retire…surprised to hear he still wants to play. What kind of part time role do you think they would keep him at??

Phil

Baggs – keep up the good work during the offseason please. I check your blog daily. But you can take a few days off during football season. Thanks for a great year covering the team.

Will

Baggs: Thanks so much for the excellent, excellent blog this season. You won me over through and through from the Chronicle; I don’t even check their sports stuff anymore. You were constantly engaged, constantly giving the true fans the info that they wanted to know about, and always offering insightful analysis. Thanks a million. Hope you get a nice vacation and a few extra bucks from the Merc. /wanton praise.
In other news: Huff is great for this team. He plays first really well, and can do LF just fine. I know Belt might be coming along – but we have the OF for Huff (or Belt). I keep hearing, “oh, but DeRosa is going to be in LF.” Here’s the thing: Huff >>>>>>>>>> DeRosa. DeRosa sat for this whole season basically with an injury, and he’s old, so it’s not like he’s going to be injury free all of a sudden. Huff’s gotta stay, and I think Uribe should be around too: he played some solid SS this year, and it would be nice to have a 3B if Pablo can’t revert to his former (and I believe true) self of 2009.

Andrew T

Thanks for all of the posts. I enjoy reading your blog daily. I’m a long time lurker and never post, but I want to make sure I say thank you before you get a long vacation.

Andrew

Meg

I would never be able to keep up with the Giants without all your tweets! So glad you didn’t have to miss any WS to go to your Jeopardy test.

PNWgiantsfan

Ditto all the good stuff, Baggs. Those of us who only get Comcast Northwest & MLB network are very greatful to get news from “home”.
Besides, You’re alot more fun! Good luck with the Jeopardy! gig too.

Johny

killblue

It probably wouldn’t be wise to open the thong bar, unless Huff was 24 and just signed a 6 year deal or something. He’d be taking a huge risk if the team was sub .500 next year. These things only work if winning is involved.

I don’t know how much chemistry there would be next year if Burrell wasn’t here with Huff.

Win_Another_in_2011

Krukow said he reads this blog…..Hey Kruk, what’s up?….

maybe Kuip and Flem do too?

Bigtime

Huff is a must. As much as I love all of those other guys, they are expendable (“Rambo, what mean expendable?”). We have such a solid core of guys signed up at least through next year- I can’t wait to see them back out on the field.

Thank you Giants for an unbelievably great season — I am still in a happy buzz.
Thank you Baggs for an informative and entertaining blog.
Now what’ll I do?? It’s boring without the Giants!!

PS I can see you are weak on Dvorak — don’t forget that he was the NY Philharmonic’as first conductor, and that he spent a summer in Spillville, Iowa. Good luck on Jeopardy.

Danya

A Longoria-esque contract for Posey would be a pretty good idea, but something tells me it’s not Sabean’s style.

I’ll be disappointed if Belt isn’t given a chance to make the opening day roster. You’d think they’d have learned from Posey, but it does seem the company line is that Sabean knew when to bring up Posey at exactly the right time, instead of assuming that he was probably ready all along, which seems more likely to me.

CB

Baggs, are we forgetting about Mark Derosa. He is under contract and most likely will be healthy for us next season after missing in action for 3/4 of the season and recovering for almost a year by the time Opening Day hits. And Derosa’s versatility of playing the infield and outfield should help determine the position Sandoval will man next season. If we re-sign Huff and Uribe, which most likely will happen. Then I think our team is set. We might have to decide between Chris Ray and Ramon Ramirez, whom we want to tender a contract for the final spot in the bullpen. Because Casilla, Affeldt, Lopez, Romo, Wilson, and Runzler are virtual locks for the bullpen next season. My bet is Ramirez will get tendered a contract and Chris Ray will get non-tendered. Say goodbye to Renteria and Mota, unless we have a need for a part-time shortstop or still a need for some bullpen depth. Anyways, back to the other side of things. If we sign Huff and Uribe, then here is how our lineup will look:
C B. Posey
1B P. Sandoval
2B F. Sanchez
3B M. DeRosa
SS J. Uribe
LF A. Huff
CF A. Torres
RF C. Ross

His numbers aren’t that bad and 2009 was a year where he was dealing with that wrist injury and took a final toll in beginning of 2010. But now he has taken care of it and should be fully recovered and help our Giants defend the title and get us to where we want to be and that is back in the playoffs. And DeRosa has that versatility, can play the corner outfield spots, play third base and second or first if needed. But his primarily position, I think will be either third base or left field.

Jim Ray Hart

I wonder why making Huff an offer is a no brainer but bringing back Uribe who is/was arguably as valuable/clutch needs to be discussed? Bring him back. Still think the G’s have the chips to trade for Hanley Ramirez without much disruption.

hari

Beltre – former Dodger – is a fantastic thrid baseman. Can Giants afford him and get rid of Pavlo from infield positions? Pavlo may be a good or even a great hitter…but his maturity and weight makes him liable to bring down the infield, me thinks.

DDM

#27–you can check this, but Beltre tends to put up big numbers in the last year of a contract. I don’t think $$ spent on him is a wise idea.

totalfan62

My comment from yesterday’s blog was held in moderation for awhile, so I’m re-posting part of it.

Baggs, I’m thankful for this blog not only because of your fine work, but also for being able to interact with other passionate, insightful, pragmatic and knowledgeable Giants fans. In an ideal world, we could all be sitting at a sports bar, enjoying a burger and a beer and talking about the Giants. Next best thing is this blog!

Thanks to DProf, The Wisdom Cow, Long Suffering Giants Fan, Obsessive Complusive Giants, AVWH, and Mavo, just to name a few. Our interaction here is a lot like the baseball season: it’s a marathon, not a sprint. There are good days and bad. There are highs and lows. However, if we keep an even keel and a steady course, we reach the prize at the end, and that’s exactly what we did.

The_Beard

Jim Ray Hart you can forget Hanley. The Marlins just built a stadium around the guy. We do have the chips to get him, it would cost us Lincecum and Posey. It will never happen.

Baggs I’m glad you mentioned Belt, can you update us on Charlie Culberson? I know he’s raking in the AFL after having a huge year in the California League. I also know he’s only 21 and has yet to play above A ball, but we’ve already seen the Giants get aggressive with Pablo and Belt in terms of moving guys up the MiLB ladder. With Freddy already at 2B, is Culberson an option at 3rd down the road if Uribe doesnt come back and Panda moves to first?

One last one- What about Brandon Crawford? Where is he at health-wise? Everything I’ve read says MLB glove but no bat…but I feel like all we need is a league average hitter at SS if his glove is stellar. I only ask because I think Uribe will be offered a multi-year deal and leave with how weak the FA SS class is this year.

Thanks AB, you were flat out money this year.
Jackson

Scout Finch

#26- I also think about what it would take to get Hanley Ramirez.

Me thinks something on the order of J. Sanchez + Pablo Sandoval. In that case, Marlins throw in a MLB ready pitching prospect to fill our 5th spot. Pipe dream though. Big time, he will get super expensive real quick.

#24 CB, thanks for filling out the roster. It really is full unless Sabes jettisons some familiar faces. Ross is no guarantee to come back @ 6 mil. Shortstop is very important. It would be nice if there was someone available fleet of foot with good glove.

How about jettisoning Whiteside and getting a real backup catcher that can relieve Posey on a more regular basis? Someone who can hit a bit more with some savvy behind the dish. Giants aren’t going to burn him out in 2 seasons are they?

Scout Finch

Didn’t Beltre just turn down a 10.5 mil player option? So he’s probably looking to command something like 4/50-60.

ED

Sandoval is the wild card. What the Giants decide about him puts a lot of other elements in motion.
Will he start?
Where will he play?
Will they trade him?
Assuming Huff and Uribe are re-signed, the roster looks mostly set.
Also, interested to see what they are thinking about making Runzler a starter. The Giants don’t have any starting arms ready to go to the bigs..I think the Runzler move makes great sense.

SharkyVinnie

I saw Brandon Belt alot in San Jose and he (just like Posey) are the best 2 hitters to be drafted from this organization.

diehardan

I wish my boss would give me a half a million to not come back to work…..

Erik

There will be “discussions” about Uribe because he is going to want a two or three year deal. Such a deal would not make sense for the Giants, so they will wait to see what the market holds for Uribe and try to get him on one year deal again.

And the Marlins WILL NOT trade Hanley Ramirez.

Let’s try to have a little perspective.

Beltre is old and will command a fairly high salary, which, given the Rowand and Zito contracts, will keep the Giants from signing Beltre. No team will take on Pablo give his inability to lose weight and play third base well.

PBryan

I feel a lot less worried about the off-season this year, now that the trophy’s at AT&T, and it is to the Giant’s advantage that the player market is poor. It is doubtful we’d repeat with the offense as is. So, yes, we need to improve, but not by a whole lot. How can we not be a bit sentimental at this point as well?

I questioned Uribe and his plate-approach all season but he earned a return, even a 2-3 year deal, and has also earned the right to be a hacker in my book.

Bring back Renteria to teach Torres and others how to bunt, as I’ve mentioned before.

Bring back JSanchez as well. I can’t believe I’m already hearing about trading him for a bat(!). Didn’t we learn this lesson already?

Zito…His mental approach has improved steadily as a Giant but maybe his body is catching up to him for a full season. I’m glad he’s beginning work-outs soon and hope his stamina is better next year.

Bottom line, with our pitching, simply improve our ability to manufacture runs while still keeping a few HR-threats around (Burell would be fine as a late-inning PH, especially if Rowand goes). Bring in some speed, learn how to bunt, up the OBP.

Does Culberson have a chance of being called up next year? Anyone else in the minors now? I’m skeptical of Pablo, seems as tho the good life has gotten to his head. He has an incredibly hot chic now tho.

FireBochyNowSorry

Hey Adam LaRoche is available!! Sign him for first base like Sabe wanted it, and move Huff to outfield. Forget Pablo; by spring training he will weigh 400 lb.

groundhog day

@31

You also wish your boss would pay you 10.5 mill to do a job you’re no longer capable of doing

Best Brian

From a long suffering Giants fan in Manhattan (the boro, not the beach), thanks for the season, and good luck on Jeapordy. But “Shorly”? Who’s your editory? 40 lashes with a wet noodle!

The Santa Clause

@#32 Eric –

“No team will take on Pablo give his inability to lose weight and play third base well.”

lol, you ARE joking right?? i think EVERY team in MLB would take a chance on Pablo because there’s no downside – he doesn’t make any $$$ and he’s just one year removed from a .330 25 hr 90 rbi season….those guys don’t grow on trees…that said i think its 50/50 that he ever approaches those numbers again…

=========================================

There will be “discussions” about Uribe because he is going to want a two or three year deal. Such a deal would not make sense for the Giants, so they will wait to see what the market holds for Uribe and try to get him on one year deal again.”

actually we don’t know what the mkt holds for Uribe because despite his excellent 2009 with the Giants there was surprisingly little interest in him last winter so they were able to re-sign him for $3 mil….Uribe is one of my favorite players and i’d like to see him get a big payday but the rest of MLB doesn’t seem to value him much…Phillies fans called him “mediocre”…now that steroid era appears to be over, not a lot of guys that can play SS and hit with that kind of power and worst case he’s a super utility type that can fill in at 3B, SS, and 2B with pretty good defense and a good bat…

Klaus von Bulow

don’t forget one last episode of The Unidork Hour with Barry Zito this Sunday on KNBR from Noon to 2:30 PM. On the bright side it looks like Chris Lincecum will be on there also and possibly Bobby Evans(?).

Nate

Andrew,

Do you get a sense how big of a player the Giants will be for Crawford? He makes perfect sense in LF and in the 3 hole for the Giants.

While Huff is not the best defensive OF. Torres can cheat to RF because of Crawford’s range in LF. If either Sandoval or DeRosa fail, Belt will be warming up at AAA the first couple of months. Payroll will likely have to rise $5-10 mil to fit Crawford.

Other comments – I’ll take Burrell if he comes back cheap. He’d be a nice power option off the bench. Schierholtz is another back up OF. Renteria would not be a bad bench player either and has indicated that might be an option.

Watching&Reading

Baggs,

I came to your blog in mid-season and realized I missed a lot. You do a marvelous job. As a retired ink-stained wretch, I know good writing. You have rare talent. I can’t decide whether you’re a better reporter or writer. But put the two together and you give us a wonderful baseball cocktail to enjoy each day. Thanks for your hard work.

While many fans are pushing the Giants to resign Uribe, they are forgetting his stats the last half of the season. I’m not saying the Giants should not resign Uribe, just see if there are better options, guys who are faster and hit for better averages.

Trading Rowand makes good sense and would be good for him as well. He needs a fresh start.

If the Giants resign Huff and Ross, Pablo slims down and learns the strike zone and thus can play 3rd, the Giants don’t need an offensive guy at SS. They can go with Brandon Crawford or Burriss or someone that can play defense, run, and do what needs to be done. I would love to see Renteria come back but I don’t think he can be an everyday player. Still, as a reserve and keeping him healthy, he would be available for the post season.

One SS who I believe is available due to Reds declining their option is Orlando Cabrera.

When you are the champion you should have no problems attracting free agents. There are those who only care about a big payday – those can be avoided, and there are those who care more about winning – those should be investigated. The Giants should have no problems this year attracting offensive free agents.

Last, while the pitching staff appears to be mostly set, the Giants do need to prepare a 6th and perhaps 7th starter to be ready in case their top of the line starters get injured or have other health problems.

J the Fan

Baggs thanks so much for writing about a great season. I have been reading daily for 2 years now and following you on twitter has been excellent. You are my go to source for knowledge about the team. You keep it somewhat objective yet still let the great stories come through. I enjoy your work very much. We are lucky to have such a great writter to read.

Klaus von Below

@#46 orange – 2nd half dropoff by Uribe was very slight – OPS went from .758 to .738 and his slugging % was actually a shade higher…his RBI’s dipped a little but RBI per AB was only slightly off….if you look at it month by month his BA was lower in the last 4 months and overall August was a lousy month in all categories for Uribe but he bounced back strongly in September with 7 HR’s…

i think the truth is that he needs more days off…he played in 148 games, might be better if he was around 135 starts and some PH appearances…

Give Uribe credit for some intangibles. One of my favs. Get Huff signed and let’s take it from there. Go Giants in 2011!!

GoldenGlove#12

@ Klaus

My vote is the Unicorn Hour is a no go in 2011 along with Father Knows Best with Chris Lincecum. During the month of August – that show had some dicey moments out on the patio with Urban.

Mavo

Thanks for the tip of the cap totalfan62! Back at you!

It has been a truly incredible crazy magical season! Who knew when the Giants picked that “There’s Magic Inside”as their ad theme this year that it would turn out to be clairvoyant … but it certainly was! I am STILL in a euphoric state that MY Giants won the World Championship this season ending my personal 52 years of TORTURE!

I am even going to admit that I am wrong on something I harped on all season … namely that I now agree that Buster belongs behind the plate! He is a natural born catcher and the difference he made for the pitching staff down the stretch and thru the postseason is incomparable in my many years of baseball playing, watching etc! What he did as a rookie will go down as one of the all-time feats of any rookie catcher. His offensive numbers will suffer as a result but he is just too darn valuable behind the dish! With some good health this kid has Hall of Fame written all over him already!!

I knew back in Spring Training that our pitching could take us a LONG way. Of course back then I figured MadBum would be dealing all year long in the 5th starter slot. Once Buster got called up and then MadBum our pitching did what I expected … DOMINATED!! And all those young fans out there who kept screaming for a hitter I hope they have learned the lesson I learned long ago the HARD way … PITCHING WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS!! END OF STORY!!!

Lastly a tip of the cap to Baggs for hosting this great blog. It certainly has made my season even more enjoyable. Your inside reporting puts the other writers to shame Baggs!

Let’s see… it’s only a bit more than 3 months til pitchers and catchers report!!!

I still think the Det Tigers will beat the Yankees, We’ll see soon, right?

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